Grain door



D. R. CAMERON GRAIN DOOR Filed April l5, 1922 2 SheetsSheet 2 Patented Aug., 7, li.

te i jiji COLUMBA, CANADA.

senin noon.

Application led April 1K, 1922.

To all 'whom it may conce/m:

Be it known that l, DANIEL ROBERT CAM- BRON, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at the city ot' 7ancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, Canada, have invented certain new and useful mprovements in Grain Doors, of which the following is a specification. f

My invention relates to improvements in grain doors, and the object ot my invention is to provide a door for use on grain cars capable however ot' being used with equal facility on cars, trucks, or wagons for the carrying of other material, which door is ot' the simplest construction, possesses great strength and durability, is adapted when unlocked to open outwardly under the pres sure of the grain or other bulk material within the car, and which is so constructed and arranged that it may be operated with great convenience from the side ot the car opposite to the discharging side or iti-om a point remote from the car such as from a suitable position within an elevator building. A jt'urther object is to devise a door of this character which is adapted to form an integral part of a box car and may be swung inwardly to lie tlat on the inner wall oi the car when not in use so that it does net interfere with the stowage or unloading oil any other merchandise or commodities with which the car may be loaded at the time, other than grain.

l attain these objects by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation showing the lower or main door closed.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section on the line 2-2 ot Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a plan view ot' the unlocking ratchet mechanism.

Fig. l is a fragmentary view in perspec tive of the inside oi a car illustrating the embodiment ot my invention therewith.

Fig. 5 is a reduced side elevation showing both the lower and upper doors closed.

Fig. 6 is a vertical section on the line 6 6 ot Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is an enlarged view in Perspective ot' the key.

Similar numerals oi" reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings, 1 indicates the outside Serial No. 552,832. i

wall ol' a typical grain car, 2 the doorway, and fl the vertical Standard posts on opposite sides ot the doorway, 5 the bottom trame sill, 6 the top trame piece of the doorway, 7 one ot the rafters positioned at midwidth ot the doorway, 8 the inner lining ot the car, and 9 the licor.

rlhe main door of the car consists ot two vertical door sections 10 and 11 formed out of thin steel plate hinged at their outer edges to the standards 3 and l: so that they are capable of swinOing outwardly, as indi` cated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, or inwardly to lie flat on the lining 8, as indi cated by the dotted lines in Fig. l illustrating one ot' the main doors thus swung in wardly. rllhe door hinges 12 and 13 are substantially the full height of the door sections. These two door sections when swung together into the closed position do not meet at their inner edges but are spaced apart a suitable distance and the inner ends of the sections are bent iirst outwardly to ttorm vertical side langes le and 15 and then bent to 'form vertical tlanges 16 and 17, lying at right angles to the side llianges, the ilanges 1 l and 16 ot one section being opposed to the flanges 15 and 17 ot the other section, trom which it will be seen that when both sections are closed, there exists in effect a groove or channel 18 between them, the sides ot the groove being formed by the side flanges lll and 15 and the bottom of the groove by the right angled 'flanges 16 and 17, the opposing edges of which llanges are however spaced apart, all as shown particularly in Figs. 1 and 2. The inner edges of the sections 10 and 11 are closer together at their lower ends than they are at their top ends and as the flanged construction just described is formed parallel to the said edges the groove 18 tapers downwardly and inwardly so that it is a wedgeshaped groove, the upper end or mouth of which is the wide end.

Flach door section 10 and 1l is reinforced by bars 19 20-21 and 22-23-24 respectively, of any suitable cross section, preferably flat, and the inner ends of these bars are formed as eyed ends, -26-27 and 28 29 30 having vertical eyes 31, as indicated in Fig. 2. When the sections are closed the eyed ends of opposite bars overlap each other, that is, 2 overlaps overlaps 29, and 27 overlaps 30, with the eyes`31 ot the overlapping ends registering, and these eyes are made of a size to receive slidably, pins 32, 33 and 34 secured into a key member 35 adapted to fit slidably the i groove 18.

This key 85 is formed channel-like and tapers complementary to the taper of the groove 18 being made so that its sides 36 and 37 lit snugly the walls of the groove when seated therein, and the pins 355, and are positioned so that-they will Jfully engage their respective eyes 3l when the key is in place. These pins are preferably secured to the `key by being bent over at one end at right angles and threaded, the threaded ends, 38 in li1 ig. 4, being passed through the key and secured by nuts 39 and d0, there being a nut on each side of the rkey so that the pins `may Abe adjusted if required. The middle pin is made shorter than the upper and lowe pins so that when these two `latter pins are entered into their respectiveeyes the middle one will enter its eye without any further guidance. At its upper end the 4key is `provided with an eyed member 41 adapted to receive a hook 42, as hereinafter described, and opposite the eye l1 1in the side 56 oic the key is a hole 413 which registers with a corresponding hole est in the side flange 15 oit the section l1, through which holes a pin l5 may be passed to engage the eye -l-l and thus detachably hold the key to the section as shown in Fig 5 and also prevent the hook ft2 trom being inserted in the eye t1 until. the pin l5 :is withdrawn, as the hook is only intended to be engaged when the key is to be withdrawn 'from the groove 13. The pin 45 is connected to `section 11 by a chain a6.

The main door sections l() .and 11 are mounted so as to be slightly clear of the floor 9 ot' the car so that their lower edges will not catch on any obstructions in the floor and the space between the lower edges oit the door and the vfloor is closed by tlaps 48, i9 and 50 of fabric or any `other suitable `material which are secured rto the inside of each section and the key respectively by means otf small bolts 51, the door Aflaps 48 and A'1l-9 meeting one another at their inner ends and overlapping the key Vllap, as shown in Fig. il, so that no grain can escape through the space i7. These flaps, however, would not be absolutely necessary when other material or commodities such as coal, furniture, or the like were carried and in that case they may be removed by taking out the bolts 5i and stored tor lurthernse with grain.

ln order to increase the aniount oic grain or the like which may be loaded into the car a supplemental or upper smaller door is provided which also consists of two door sections of thin steel 52 and 53 hinged at their outer edges to the standards 3 and 4: by hinges 54 and 55 and the construction ot' these door sections is substantially similar to the construction already described with reterence to the lower doors, as the sections are reinforced with bars 5(5--57 and 58--59 having their inner ends eyed and overlapping, a divided tapering groove similar to groove 18 being also provided between the upper sections when closed in which may be slidably fitted a tapering key 61 similar to key 35, having pins and 65 adapted `to engage the eyes oi' the overlapping ends of the bars 56-58 and 57-59,

the key being also iitted with an eye Gdr at its upper end similar to the eye 41 o'r the main door key. The only difference between the upper door arrangement and that of the lower one is that whereas the side tlanges of the ylower groove are turned outwardly the side lianges ot the upper groove are turned inwardly so that the upper groove is not in vertical alignment with the lower groove but lies behind it so that the lower key may be raised in front ot the upper groove `and key and clear ot theni while the upper door closed. Vhen both the upper and lower doors are closed the lowerA ends ot the upper door overlap the upper ends of the lower door with the upper key lying against the lower key and in this position there is a space between the keys equal to the depth oit the sides ot' the upper key `but this space is entirely closed by a semicircular strip 65 secured to the back of the lower key and over which the `lower end ot' the upper key lits.

ln order to enable the doors to be opened from the side opposite to the discharging side a barrel member 66 is rotatably mounted on one side of the raiter 7, its shaft eX- tending through to the opposite side of the ratter and being operated by a pawl 67 and ratchet 68 actuated by means ot a lever G9 having an extension lever 70 'toldably connected to its tree end. 71 indicates a locking pawl to prevent return movement of the ratchet. The extension may be 'folded and supported on the main llever G9, resting on a side lug 72, and the main lever may be swung up out ot the way as indicated by theI dotted lines in F ig. il, and supported on a bracket 73 secured to the ratter. There is enough side play in the main lever assembly to permit it to be passed over the end of the bracket 7 3 and supported on the top ot the same, and the same applies Yto the lever 70 and lug 72. To the barrel G6 is secured one end ot a rope 7,11- the Jfree end of which passes over a sheave 7 5 rotatably carried in a bracket 716, which bracket is provided with a flat plate end 77, which fits up into a slot 78 formed in the top Ytrarne piece 6 o t the doorway, there 'being a similar slot 79 in the frame piece of the opposite iio doorway, being `held therein `by a bolt 8O passed through. the slot and the plate, while to the tree end ot the rope is` connected the hook L12 hereinbetore mentioned, which hook when not in use is hcld up to the trame piece 6 in any suitable manner. The sheave is provided with a plurality of holes Sl adapted to receive the hook ot a snatch block, as will be referred to later.

82 indicate latches hingedly connected at one end, as at 83, to the lining 8 yot the car, which may be swung to lie `on one'of the reinforcing bars ot the door sections to hold the doors in their inwardly swung positions, as indicated in Figa, and when the doors are out of use and swung back as just described the upper and lower keys may be carried sal'ely in one of their respective door sectionsby simply engaging the key pins in the eyes oil. their respective section reinforcing bars. y From the foregoing description the manner in which the door is used and operated will he readily apparent as it will be seen that to put the lower door into use all that is necessary is to raise the latches 82 clear and swing the doors into the closed position and insert the key in the groove 18 with its pins engaging the eyes of the over,- lapping ends` ot the reinforcing bars. Thel door will then be closed `and the car ready to receive grain, and it should be particularly noted, as this is a most important teaturc ot the device, that the dimensions ot' the sections l0 and l1 and ot the key 35 are such that when assembled to torni thc complete door the sections do not lie in the same plane but incline slightly inwardly so that the door has when closed a camber the crown of which is towards the inside of the car as shown in `lFig. 2, so thatwhile the pressure ot the grain cannot torce the sections open until the key is withdrawn it tends to tighten the walls of the groove on the sides or" the key and thus maintain the rigidity oi the door. The saine applies to the upper door which is closed and locked in the same way by the key 6l. To open the lower door the hook e2 is dropped andengaged `in the eye 41, the lever 69 and extension 7() are lowered to the position shown by the iiull lines in Fig. et, so that the operator may reach in through the opposite doorway ot the car and grasp the extension when by giving the lever a few strokes to rotate the barrel 66` to tighten and pull up on the rope 7d the key 35 is raised to disengage its pins out of the eyed ends ot the bars. Immediately he` pins are clear of the eyes the pressure oit the grain swings the sections l0 and ll outwardly so that the car may then be unloaded, and it should he noted that thetaper of the groove 18 and key 35 is designed so that the door sections may open immediately the key has been raised the amount required to disengage the pins so that a very small amount oit vertical movement of the key is neccssary.

The upper door sections may be opened at will after the lower onesI have been opened. lVhen the door on the opposite side of the car is to be opened the bolt is withdrawn and the bracket 76 and sheave 75 moved over to the other side to be supported in the slot 79 by the bolt 80, the rope 74: being passed around the barrel in the opposite direction, whereupon the opposite door may be opened by operating the lever 69 as described.

l?? hen it is desired to open the doors `'troni :i point distant 'from the car, say from an elevator alongside which the car is brought to be discharged, the pawl and ratchet nicchanism with associated levers is mounted in a suitable place in the building and the rope le is passed through and provided with a snatch block so that by simply hooking the snatch block to any ot the holes Sl in the shea-ve and hooking the hook '-l in the eye el ot the key the doors may be `opened in the saine manner as already described.

W hat i claim as my invention is s4 l. A door comprising two sections adapted to be disposed across the door opening with their adjacent vertical edges spaced apart` and means adapted to engage with said adjacent edges to maintain the door when closed in substantially camber-like torina-` tion.

2. ift door coniprisingI two sections ada pted to be disposed across the door opening with their adjacent vertical edges spaced apart, and a vertically withdrawable key adapted. to engage with said adjacent edges vand to interlock with said sections tor main ing; the door when closed in substantially camber-like tonnation.

3. A vertically divided car door including two swingable sections adapted to be disposed across the. door opening with their adjacent vertical edges spaced apart, said sections being movable outwardly to com# pletely open the car doorway or inwadiy to lie on the car wall. and reli-iasable means adapted to engage with the adiacent edges of said sections and to interlock with said sections 't'or maintaining vthe doorl when closed in substantially cainbeivlike tion.

el. et vertically divided car door includ two swingable sections adapted to be di posed across the door openi g with their adjacent vertical edges spaced apart` sainL sections being moii'able outwa]v pletely open the car doorway or to lie on car wall, and releasalile inea adapted to engage 'with said adict-cer n v to r intain the door when closed 'in substantially camber-lilre "formation, said means lwhereby when the sections are closing being also adapted to lock the adjacent edges of said sections together against inward or outward pressure, and means for releasing said releasable means to'unlock the adjacent edges capable of operation a point remote from the door.

` 5. e, rar door comprising a pair of door sections hinged at opposite sides of' the car doorway and flanged at their free encs whereby when the sections are closing thc doorway a vertical growe is formed by the opposed flanged ends, and a withdrawable key adapted to be seated in -d groei-*e to lock said sections together against inward or outward movement.

(i. car door comprising a pair` of door sections hinged at opposite sides of the car doorway and flanged at their free ends the doorway a vertical groove is formed by the opposed flanged ends, and a withdrawable key adapted to be seated in said grooves to lock said sections togethe.' against inward lor outward movement',v said key cooperating with said sections to maintain the complete door .vhen closed in substantially can berlike formation.

i. A car door comprising a pair oi doo.l sections hinged at opposite sides of the car doorway and flanged at their free endswhereby when the sections are closing the doorway a vertical groove is formed by he lopposed flanged ends` a withdrawable lrej."

adapted to be seated in said groove to lock said sections togfjether against inward or outward movement. and means for locking the key in the groove.

S. A car door comprising a pair of door sections hinged at opposite sides of the car doorway and flanged at their free ends whereby wh the sections are closing the doorway a vertical groove is formed by the opposed `hanged ends. said groove being` tapered downwardly and inwardly, anda withdrawable key adapted to be seated in said groove to lock the sections together against inward or outward movement, said rey betapered complementary to the taper of the said groove.

9. A car door comp ing a pair of door sections hinojed at opposite sides of the car doorway and flanged at heir free ends whereby when the s ctions are closing the doorway a vcrticai groore is formed by the opposed flangedends. a withdra iable key adapted to be seated in said groove to lock the sections together ins' inward or out ward movement, and means for withdrawing the key from the groove.

l0. A car door comprising a pair of door sections hinged at opposite sides of the car doorway and flanged at their free ends whereby when the sections are closing the doorway a vertical groove is formed by the opposed flanged ends, a withdrawable key adapted to be seated in said groove to lock the sections together against inward or out'- ward movement, means for locking the key in seated position in the Oroove, and means for withdrawing the key from the groove.

ll. A car door comprising a pair of door sections hinged at opposite sides of' the oar doorway and flanged at their 'tree ends whereby when the sections are closing the doorway a vertical groove is formed by the opposed flanged ends, a plurality of vertically eyed members secured to eachsection spaced vertically thereon, the eyed members of one section overlapping those of the other section with the eyes of the overlapped members in registration when the sections are in the closed position, and a withdrawable key adapted to be seated in said groove t'o lock the sections together, said key being provided with a'plurality of pins adapted to engage respectively the registering eyes of the respective overlapping eyed members.

l2. A car door comprising a pair of door sections hinged at opposite sides of the car doorway and flanged at their free ends whereby when the `sections are closing the doorway a vertical groove is formed by the opposed flanged ends, a lplurality ofvertically eyed members secured to each section spaced verticallythereon the eyed members of one section overlapping those of theother section with thefeyes of the overlappingmembers in registration vwhen the sections are in the closed position, a withdrawable key adapted to be seated in said groove to 'look the sections together, said key boing eyed at its upper end and provided with a plurality of pins adapted to engage respece tively the registering eyes of the overlapped eyed members, Aa barrel member rotatably mounted on the car structure, a pawl and ratchet mechanism for operating zsaid ba rel, a sheave rotatably mounted above the key, and av cable connected at one end to said barrel and having its free end passed through said sheave andv provided with a hook adapted to engage the upper end eye of the key. y

13. A car door comprising a pair of door sections hinged at opposite sides of the car doorway and flanged at their free ends whereby when thel sections are closing the doorway a vertical groove is formed by the opposed flanged ends, and a withdrawable key adapted to be seated in said groove locking the sections together against inward and outward movement and co-ope'rating with them to maintain the door in substantially camber-like formation, said key being gripped' tightly by the groove wallsto maintain the lock when the camber side of` the door is under pressureg 14. A car door comprising a pair of door sections hinged at opposite sides of the car doorway and flanged at their free ends whereby when the sections are closing the doorway a vertical groove is formed by the opposed flanged ends, said groove being tapered downwardly and inwardly, a plurality ot eyed members secured to each section spaced vertically thereon, the eyed members of one section overlapping those of the other section with the eyes o'l the overlapped members in registration when the sections are in the closed position, and a. withdrawable key adapted to be seated in said groove locking the sections together and co-operating with them to maintain the door in sul stantially camber-lilie formation and provided with a plurality or pins adapted to engage respectively the registering eyes or the respective overlapping eyed members, said key being gripped tightly by the groove walls to maintain the lock when the camber side of the door is under pressure, the `grip being relieved to break the lock coincident with the disengagement of the said pins from the said eyes as the key is withdrawn.

l5. A main car door comprising a pair of lower door sections hinged at opposite sides of the car doorway and 'flanged outwardly at their free ends whereby when the sections are closing the doorway a vertical groove is formed by the opposed flanged ends, said groove being tapered downwardly and inwardly, a withdrawable lower hey adapted to be seated in said groove to loclr the sections together tapered complementary to the groove and formed channellike in section, `a supplemental door com prising a pair ot upper door sections hinged at opposite sides of the doorway 'flanged inwardly at their free ends whereby when the sections are closed a vertical groove is formed by their opposed flanged ends, said groove being tapered. downwardly and inwardly, a withdrawable upper key adapted to be seated in the said upper groove to lock the upper sections together tapered comple mentary to the groove and formed channellilre in section, said upper door sections overlappingJ at their lower ends on the upper ends of the lower door sections and said upper key overlapping the lower key, and a filler Secured to the upper end of the lower key adapted to close the space between the keys when overlapped.

ln testimony whereorp l aiii: my signature at Vancouver, B. C., Canada, this 8th day of April, 1922.

DANlEL ROBERT CAMERN. 

